Abuse victims demand national redress

Daily Mail
March 25, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-3009700/Abuse-redress-hearing-opens.html

Survivors of child sexual abuse will band together to force Australian governments to back a national compensation scheme.

The opening day of a three-day hearing into redress for thousands of people who were abused as children in institutions heard the federal government had rejected a proposal for a national scheme.

The knock-back was described as disappointing by Peter McClellan, the chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Nicky Davis, who heads up the Australian branch of the international advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, claimed the federal and state governments were telling survivors to "suffer in silence".

Only three state governments, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have opted to appear at the hearing. The federal government declined to attend and filed a two-and-a-half page submission with the point-blank `no' to a national scheme.

Other governments, except for the ACT and Queensland, provided written submissions.

Victoria said it was developing a state scheme but was open to discuss a national approach and NSW said the same in a written submission.

"I think you will see survivors banding together and insisting that this (a national scheme) is what we need," Ms Davis said.

There seemed little political will in Australia for anyone to be held responsible for the additional suffering caused by the long-term cover-up of institutional crimes "... even where clear evidence of the criminal cover-up exists," she said.

In the absence of other forms of justice it was imperative "redress measures are not inadequate, miserly, exploitative or token, as previous examples have been".

Broken Rites representative Wayne Chamley also said advocacy groups should continue to push for a national scheme and get the UN involved if need be.

In an opening address on Wednesday, Justice McClellan said commissioners were disappointed the Commonwealth did not support the scheme most likely to ensure a "just, fair and consistent outcome for all victims".

In January a commission consultation paper said a national scheme led by the federal government would be ideal.

It provided an actuarial model for a $4.3 billion scheme for an estimated 65,000 victims which would be funded by government and non-government institutions.

The commission also suggested governments should underwrite the scheme and levy non-government institutions for contributions if organisations could not pay.

The federal government has said no on all fronts because of cost and complexity. It also rejected an expansion of the public provision of counselling and psychological care for survivors.

A national scheme has been supported by the Catholic and Anglican churches and on Wednesday Uniting Church Queensland CEO Anne Cross said the church supported the structure proposed by the commission for a national scheme.

The hearing continues on Thursday before a full bench of the commission.